Coscinium fenestratum (Gaertn.) Colebr. (Family: Menispermaceae) is one of the most important plants used in traditional systems of medicine. The major compound in the C. fenestratum is berberine. In the present study, berberine content was quantified using C. fenestratum grown in Sri Lanka. Results revealed that hot extraction method was more suitable for getting high yield of berberine from C...

BACKGROUND Leishmania donovani is the etiological agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Indian subcontinent. However, it is also known to cause cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan L. donovani differs from other L. donovani strains, both at the molecular and biochemical level. To investigate the different species or strain-specific differences of L. donovani in Sri Lanka ...

Background In general, different foods and food ingredients are believed to be causing hypersensitivity/allergy among the Sri Lankan population. Global epidemiological observations have revealed lists and levels of hypersensitive foods but proper researches have been carried out in Sri Lanka for identifying food allergens. This study was carried out to obtain statistical data for different food...

1 Under-representation of developing countries in the research literature: ethical issues arising from a survey of five leading medical journals Authors Athula Sumathipala 1, 4, Sisira Siribaddana 2,4 and Vikram Patel 3. 1. Section of Epidemiology, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London SE5 8AF. 2 Sri Jayewardenepura Postgraduate Teaching Hospital, Thalapathpitiya, Nugegoda, 10250, Sri ...

BACKGROUND Tobacco consumption (TC) among youths poses significant public health problem in developing countries. This study utilized the data of Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), 2007 to examine and compare youth TC behavior in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. METHODS The GYTS covered a total of 2,242 Bangladeshi, 1,444 Nepalese and 1,377 Sri-Lankan youths aged 13-15 years. They represente...

INTRODUCTION Sri Lanka has one of the highest suicide and self-harm rates in the world and although alcohol has been found to be a risk factor for self-harm in Sri Lanka, we know little about the connection between the two. This paper comprises a protocol for a qualitative study investigating alcohol's role in self-harm in rural Sri Lanka at three levels: the individual, community and policy le...

Dr. Nadira Karunaweera: I am pleased to say that our research program on leishmaniasis has had a major impact on health policy decisions on several fronts during the past decade or so that has helped to lay the foundation and facilitated the process for better management and control of this disease in Sri Lanka. First, the published information on clinical and epidemiological aspects of leishma...

BACKGROUND International guidelines on research have focused on protecting research participants. Ethical Research Committee (ERC) approval and informed consent are the cornerstones. Externally sponsored research requires approval through ethical review in both the host and the sponsoring country. This study aimed to determine to what extent ERC approval and informed consent procedures are docu...

Four rare human cases of primary ocular rhinosporidiosis with staphyloma formation in Sri Lanka are described. Cases 1, 3, and 4 were the first reported cases of ocular rhinosporidiosis, with a river contaminated with the causative organism Rhinosporidium seeberi as the probable source of infection. A contaminated lake was the probably source in case 2. Their unusual features included serial rh...

The aim of this study was to explore the associations between occupational stress measured through job demand control (JDC), and burnout among lawyers in Sri Lanka. The job demand-control model and the burnout model are among the most used theoretical frameworks that relate job characteristics to health and well-being of individuals. This study included 290 respondent lawyers practicing in the ...